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Comics are grateful for the powder as they hit the trail

International headlining comedians Arj Barker, Dan Quinn, Craig Campbell and Pete Johansson come together to go snowboarding during the day and do comedy shows at night. This is the fifth year of the highly successful Snowed In Comedy Tour, which comes to the Vernon Performing Arts Centre on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m.

If you think all this snow is ridiculous, wait for what’s in store when the Snowed In Comedy Tour returns to Vernon Thursday.

The tour is back for its fifth year at the Performing Arts Centre and once again features snowboarders-by-day and comics-by-night Dan Quinn, Arj Barker, Pete Johansson and Craig Campbell.

The foursome, who entertained during the Vernon Winter Carnival last year, are returning to the North Okanagan a little earlier this year as part of a 25-date winter tour that takes them to ski resort towns and cities throughout B.C.

Founded by Quinn, winner of the Canadian competition atJust for Laughs, who has opened for Rob Schneider and Russell Peters and starred in his own comedy special, the Snowed In tour is not only hitting four new cities, including Smithers, Terrace and Prince Rupert, the comics are heading south of the border to Bellingham, Wash. and over to Calgary.

“We are also very excited to be moving up in venue sizes at a couple of locations,” said Quinn on Snowed In’s blog. “I hope our killer show last year spreads the word.”

Quinn will also be joined by Campbell on the slopes in the Alps for a European tour that takes them to Switzerland in February.

The notorious co-host of Canada’s legendary Ed’s Night Party (featuring Ed the Sock), Campbell now lives in Devon, England. In the past year he has been nominated best headliner at The Chortle Awards, supported Frankie Boyle on his 120-date nationwide tour, finished his own nationwide solo tour, and performed on Dave’s One Night Stand, Russell Howard’s Good News and Michael Macintyre’s Comedy Roadshow.

Back after joining the tour for the first time last year are Barker and Johansson.

An American-born comic probably best known for playing clueless pawnshop worker Dave from the now defunct hit HBO comedy Flight of the Conchords, Barker now spends half his time in Australia where he is a household name, and is the creator of The Marijuana-logues, a parody of the Vagina Monologues. Besides his three Comedy Central specials, he has appeared twice on Late Night with David Letterman.

Kelowna-born comic Johansson, who now lives in London, England, has appeared on The Late Late Show, Comedy Central’s Premium Blend, Comedy Now,Just for Laughs, the Winnipeg Comedy FestivalandCBC’s The Debators, just to name a few.

The Snowed in Comedy Tour takes place at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Thursday, Jan. 17 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $40 for adults available at the Ticket Seller, 549-7469, www.ticketseller.ca. There is an adult content warning for this show.

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